Electrode support structure for electric discharge devices



Jan. 1949- G. G. HALSTEAD ETAL ELECTRODE SUPPORT STRUCTURE FOR ELECTRIC DISC RGE DEVICE Filed D80, 1946 IQ w, 5 aw e PIP n w s m H 0 @a m muwz e N A \-/|v n n e \\/H/ Ia In 7 P T e n y. 7: 0 e b Z Patented Jan. 18, 1949 ELECTRODE SUPPORT STRUCTURE FOR: ELECTRIC DISCHARGE DEVICES.

GeraldG. Halstead and RichardPB: Russ, Schenectady, N. Y., assignors to General"E1ectric' Company, acorporation of'New York.

Application December 3, 1946, serialNo. 113,796

14 Claims.

Our invention relates to electric discharge devices and more, particularly. to improved electrode and'electrode mounting assemblies for discharge devices of thereceiving type.

Electric discharge devices, employing an electrode assembly including generally planar, electrodes having marginal portions received between adjacent'insulating ringsarranged in a stack have been developed. For example, tubesof this type are shown and claimed incopending. Brian applications S. N. 557,126, filed October 4, 1944, now Patent 2,441,792and S. N. 599,712, filed June 15, 1945, now Patent 2,425,593. Our invention'relates to devices, of this-generalcharacter, and. particularly to an improved mounting arrangement for the stacked assembly and also for an improved construction-and arrangement of part of the electrodes. The improved designis particularly advantageous-in permitting automatic stacking of the electrode assemblies.

Itis an-object-of our invention to provide a new and improved electric discharge device.

It is another obj ectof our inventionto provide anelectricdischarge deviceemploying a stacked electrode assembly which is-particularly. adapted for manufacture by automatic machines.

It is a still further object of our invention to provide a new and improved mounting.- arrangement for the electrodes of electricdischarge devices.

Further objects and advantages of our invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds; and its scope will be pointed out in the appended claims. In the accompanying drawingFig. 1 is an elevational view, in section, of ,a preferred embodiment of our invention; Fig. 2 is a. sectional view taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. l, and Fig; 3 is a sectionalviewtaken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Referring now to the drawing, we have'shown our invention embodied in an electric discharge device employing a standard miniaturebase and envelope. As illustrated, the base or header includes abody of pressed glass I through which are sealed a plurality of contact prongs and lead-in conductors 2-5, inclusive. As illustrated, the conductors are'arranged in a circular array and each is made up of three different sections. The portions of the conductor extending. belowv the header is of relatively heavy nickel stock and provides a contact prong for the device. The intermediate section is of smaller diameter and is preferably ofcopper-clad nickel to provide for sealing between the glass and lead-in conductor. A third portion of the conductors extends substantially above-the; header; and, as will become, more apparent, provides a mounting for the electrode as sembly and for electrically connecting the various electrodes with thecontact prongs. Asillustrated, each ofth'e conductors is'surrounded by an upwardly extending bead of glass I which'provides additional support for the'conductors and an extended area of sealing,

The upper portions of theconductors designated by numerals 8 to l2, inclusive, are preferably formedfof nickel'or similar metal; and are bent outwardly as illustrated at I3 to providev a support for the electrode assembly. This assembly, which is, in general similar to thatidescribedand claimed in the aforementioned copending Brian applications, includes a plurality of insulating rings H! to l 9, inclusive, preferably formed of suitable ceramic material and which may be groundto accurate dimensions. The particular device illustrated is a double-diode triode; that is, it includes a doublediode unit and a triode unit. In accordance with an important feature of the present invention which contributesto the ease of assembly of the devicethere is a novel, arrangement of the plate electrodes of the double-diodesection. As illustrated, one of the plate electrodes 20.15 provided witha laterally extending fl'ange 2! which is received between the, adjacent, insulating rings l4 and [5; The elect'rodeisprovided with a planar circular discharge receiving..- surface 22. which is offset upwardly with, respect to the supporting portion 2| substantially thethickness of one of the spacing rings IS. A second anode electrode for the diode; is provided by an apertured metal disk, 23, having, the marginal portion. thereof received betweenthe adjacent insulating. rings l5 and I6. Thedischarge receivingsurface is planar andgen'erally, annular. inshape and dueto the offset of'thesurface 22 with respectto the mounting thereof, theactive surfaces 22, and 23 are coplanar. It is apparent that this electrode structure is symmetrical about the axis of the electrode assembly which greatly facilitates assembly, as compared with known constructions.

The cathode'of the device is illustrated particularly inFig. .3'of the drawing. and is made up of a pair of punchednickel parts. The upper part 24 is provided with a marginal supporting portion 25 received between-insulating rings l5 and 11. As illustrated in Fig. 3, a part of the marginal portioniscut away to providean area for receiving,lead intconductorslfi (Fig. 3) for theheater element26, is received betWeen-the-part 24 and the lower metalpart ZLofthe'cathode structure. The central planar portion of theupper cathode having marginal portions received between in-- sulating rings l1 and I8 and a disk-like plate member having marginal portions received between the rings I8 and I9. The assembly is made by dispensing the rings and electrodes into the receptacle provided by the generally circular array of conductors 8-l 2, inclusive, with the bottom insulator l4 resting on the ofiset portions of the conductors. The electrode stack is maintained in its proper relation by bending the upper ends of the conductors over the upper surface of the top cylinder l9, as illustrated at 3|. It will be apparent that the various electrodes are electrically connected to diiferent ones of the lead-in conductors and as visible in Fig. 1 of the drawingthe triode plate electrode is connected to conductor l2 by a short conducting'strap 32 extending between the marginal portion. of the plate electrode and welded to the conductorlll. Similarly, the diode plate electrode 2| is electrically connected to the lead-in conductor 8 by a conducting'strap 33.

A suitable getter, illustrated at 34, may be supported within the envelope and as illustrated is connected with one'of the lead-in conductors 9. The device is completed by a glass envelope 35 which is sealed at its lower end to the header I in accordance with the usual constructions ofminiature electric discharge devices.

1 It will be understood that our invention is not ductors, a plurality of generally planar electrodes having laterally extending marginal portions received respectively between adjacent insulators of said stack, and means at the upper end of said conductors engaging the upper end of said stack holding said insulators and said electrodes in assembled relation. v

3. An electric discharge device including an envelope, a plurality of lead-in conductors sealed through said envelope and providing a retaining structure, a plurality of insulating spacers mounted in a stack within said structure, a plulimited to the particular envelope type illustrated, a

and may be applied with equal facility to metal tubes or larger glass tube types. It will also be apparent that our invention is not limited to the exact structural features employed in the illustrated embodiment for supporting the stack from the header. assembly and lead-in conductors, and that in its broader aspect the inventioncontemplates the use of extended lead-in conductors as a mounting and retaining arrangement for the stacked electrode assembly.

While we have shown and described a particular embodiment of our invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from our invention in its broader aspects, and we, therefore, aim in the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of our invention.

What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is: a 1

1. An electric discharge device including an envelope, a plurality of lead-in conductors'sealed through said envelope and supported in a generally circular .array, a plurality of,v insulating spacers mounted in a stack within said array. of conductors, a plurality of electrodes having mar,- ginal portions received respectively between'ad jacent insulators of said stack, and means at the upper end of said conductors engaging the upper end of said stack holding said insulators and said electrodes in assembled relation.

2. An electric discharge device including a headena plurality of lead-in conductors sealed through said header and supported in a generally circular array, a plurality of insulating spacers mounted in a stack within said array of conrality of generally planar electrodes having laterally extending marignal portions supported from the insulators of said stack, and means at the upper end of said conductors engaging the upper end of said stack holding said stack in assembled relation.

4. An electric discharge device comprising a header, a plurality of lead-in conductors sealed through said header'and extending substantially above said header in a generally circular array, saidlead-in conductors being ofiset outwardlyin the region near said header, a plurality of fin-'- sulating spacing rings mounted in a sta'ckand supported on the ofiset portion of saidconductors,

a plurality of electrodes having laterally extending marginal portions received respectively between adjacent ones of said insulators, said lead in conductor being bent over attheir upper ends to'engage the upper insulator of said stack and holding said insulators and said electrodes inassembled relation. i

5. An electric discharge device comprising an envelope, a plurality of lead-in conductors sealed through said envelope and extending substantially above the seal portion 'of said envelope ina' through said header and extending sub-stantially above said header in a generally ircular array; a plurality of insulating spacing rings mounted in a stack within said array of condu-ctorsj'a plurality of electrodes having laterally extending marginal portions received respectively between adjacent ones of said insulators, said leadin' conductors being bent over at their upper ends to engage the upper insulatorsof said stack holding said insulators and said electrodes, in assembled relation. V l

'7. An electric discharge device of the doublediode type including a generally planar cathode surface and a pair of anodes, one. of said anodes having a planar annular active surface and'the other of said anodes having a substantially planar surface received Within the opening of aid first anode, and means mounting said anodes with the active surfaces in coplanar relation.

8. An electric discharge device including a cathode and a pair of anodes, one of said anodes including an apertured active surfaceand the other of said anodes comprising a substantiallyanodes in insulated relation with respect to said cathode and in insulated relation with respect to each other.

9. An electric discharge device including an insulating supporting structure, a generally planar cathode supported from said structure, a first anode supported from said structure in insulated and spaced relation with respect to said cathode, and a second anode supported from said structure at a point more remote than said first anode, said second anode having an active surface ofiset with respect to the supporting portion sufiiciently to place the active surfaces of said anodes in substantially coplanar relation.

10. An electric discharge device including a plurality of insulating spacers, a plurality of electrodes including a cathode and a pair of anodes each having marginal supporting portions and generally planar active surfaces, one of said anodes having an aperture therein, said electrodes having marginal portions received between adjacent insulators, and said second anode having an offset portion rendering the active surfaces of said anodes substantially coplanar.

11. A cathode for use in an electric discharge device, said cathode having opposed planar active surfaces and including a pair of spaced metal members, a supporting ring for said cathode and a plurality of arms extending from said ring to said cathode, a heater element positioned between said members and insulated therefrom, said supporting ring being received between a pair of insulating supports and cut away through a substantial angular distance to provide a space for the reception of the terminals of said heater element.

12. A cathode for use in an electric discharge device and including .a pair of sheet metal members, one of said members being of substantially larger transverse dimensions than the other, said members being bonded together to provide opposed centrally located active surfaces, said larger member being provided With a marginal supporting portion connected with the central portion by a plurality of arms of relatively small cross section.

13. A cathode for use in an electric discharge device and including a pair of sheet metal members bonded together to provide opposed active surfaces, a heater element received between said members, one of said members including a plurality of radially extending supporting arms, and a marginal rim portion for supporting the cathode assembly.

14. An electric discharge device including an envelope, a plurality of lead-in conductors sealed through said envelope and providing a retaining structure, a plurality of insulating spacers mounted in a stack within said structure, a plurality of generally planar electrodes having marginal portions supported from the insulators of said stack, conducting tabs connected respectively with said electrodes and bonded to difie'rent ones of said lead-in conductors, and means engaging the upper end of said stack and retaining said stack in assembled relation.

GERALD G. HALSTEAD. RICHARD B. RUSS.

No references cited. 

